To you I am the face of gender inclusion, a”Need-t0″ and not a “Must- Have”!

I am also a Mother, and you believe that my brain probably fell -off, with the placenta at the time of birthing

Why else would you de-value me? Act as if its a favor and a blessing that I still have a job

Oh yes! I do prioritize my child’s need;

No, I don’t de-prioritize my work to be a good mother

What I do instead is learn to re-prioritize my work and life

I do 8 hours worth of work in 6 hours or less because I won’t take those networking and gossipy tea breaks

I will not worry about who gets the next promotion or watch Youtube at work, just because I have to pretend that I am physically present at work

Yes, I might not be able to attend few of the midnight conference calls on some nights, but you know that I will start early the next day and deliver everything that you will need for your next meeting

When you appreciate my work by sending a simple Thank- you email, it makes my work week, but I don’t appreciate it when you don’t bother to let others know that the you had help from me on that critical deliverable

I appreciate feedback, in fact, that’s what makes me feel important because I realize then, that you have been paying attention to my work and that you’re invested in my progress at work

I appreciate it, even more, when that feedback is backed up by real facts, data, and figures and is not purely based on your perception of my situational constraints

I am not weak because I am a mother who also works

In fact, being a mother makes me stronger -intellectually, mentally and intuitively

I am better at managing my time and focussed on getting things done

I am also more committed to my work, work that I love on most days, because now I have greater responsibilities and mostly because I want to be a role model for my child

I don’t want your sympathy, I wasn’t hit by a meteor

What I need from you is acknowledgment, for both my potential and drawbacks

I need you to tell me How better I can contribute to the team, and then have faith in me that I will do my best because I have always held myself accountable to my work

I need you to believe that my brain did not get dislodged during the pregnancy,

It’s still at its right place and is now functioning in ways that almost makes me believe that I have super-powers

And this super-woman is happy to work for You, for the team, the organization and most importantly for herself

because you see this woman in your team is actually a closeted “Momma-holic”